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| Still from Mister Rogers |
Written by Megan Kearns.
I live in Boston. Yesterday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon rocked the beautiful city I call home.
I spent the day tweeting, Facebooking, texting and calling — getting out information and checking in on loved ones. I experienced a range of emotions from shock, panic, worry and waves of relief after hearing people I knew were safe. I woke up with a grateful yet heavy heart this morning, still drained.
But helping me get through it all is hearing about the bravery of first responders, doctors, police officers and “ordinary” people who ran toward the blast and helped those in need. It’s been humbling reading about the random acts of kindness transforming people into heroes, strangers into community. Thank you to all the amazing people making a difference. Thank you to people donating blood and offering their homes to those displaced. Thank you to everyone who’s expressed concern, who’s said they stand with Boston or that their hearts go out to Boston. We appreciate your support and solidarity more than you know.
Believe it or not, the words of Mister Rogers are also helping me get through this tragedy:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”
Media impacts our daily lives in ways seen and unseen. It entertains and educates. It infuriates and inspires. And sometimes, it can even help us heal.
Thank you, Mister Rogers. Thank you.
Comedian/actor Patton Oswalt’s facebook status about Boston has gone viral, so you may already have seen it, but it’s worth sharing.
“Boston. Fucking horrible.
I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, ‘Well, I’ve had it with humanity.’ But I was wrong. I don’t know what’s going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.
But here’s what I DO know. If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness.
But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We’d have eaten ourselves alive long ago.
So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, ‘The good outnumber you, and we always will.'”